


incompatible

by CloudHop



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Angst with a Happy Ending, Break Up, M/M, Mutual Pining, Post-Break Up, Slow To Update
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-15 07:53:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11801709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloudHop/pseuds/CloudHop
Summary: In which Jun and Minghao break up and try to get over it with very little success.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ah, hi everybody this is my first fanfiction on this site. The Mandarin version of My I was just so good and idk I was inspired to write some lame office alternate universe of chinaline. I'm sorry if I messed up grammar wise.

It's late at night after they've watched the final episode of some Chinese romantic dramedy that Minghao likes and lighthearted music fills the background. Jun is perceptive enough to know it's all a ruse.

"I think we should break up," Minghao says as the credits roll. He has his glasses on and Jun can see the director's name reflected on the lenses. 

"I-"

"Please don't argue with me on this." And Minghao turns to look him directly in the eye and Jun can't bring himself to disagree. He never could. Not even in the one time when he needs to. He doesn't ask for an explanation, a reason why Minghao wants to discard the arguably best past 2 years of their lives. The credits end and silence fills the room.

"You should probably go," Minghao says, and he gently but pointedly shrugs Jun's arm off his shoulder. Jun pretends that the action doesn’t sting a little bit. A lot.

"Yeah. I'll just, uh, leave."

Jun gets up and makes his way over to the front door from the living room, shoving his feet into his shoes without lacing them. Minghao is still on the couch. He's not even looking at Jun. Jun does his best to hold in big ugly sobs that would definitely be humiliating.

"Bye," Jun calls, and he's out. He doesn't wait to hear a response, he doesn’t think he could handle it. The click from the door is deafening.

\----

When Jun gets back to his apartment his roommates are sitting around their coffee table and aggressively playing Uno. 

"How was your date with Minghao?" Soonyoung asks and Jun makes it about thirty seconds before bursting into heavy, disgusting sobs. Soonyoung is up in a flash, holding Junhui close and rubbing his back soothingly while Wonwoo hurries to the kitchen to make the fanciest tea they have. Jun allows himself to be lead to the couch where he's sandwiched between Soonyoung and Dino and he whispers out a tiny "thanks" when a steaming mug is placed into his hands.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Wonwoo asks and Jun takes a sip of his tea and shakes his head. Wonwoo nods and Dino leans his head against Jun's shoulder in a show of camaraderie. He doesn't have to say it out loud but Dino knows Jun is thankful. Eventually Jun finishes his tea and wanders to his room, where he shucks off his clothes and collapses into bed with an exhausted sigh. He tries not to hear the hushed, worried whispers outside his door. 

\----

When Jun rolls into work the next morning he wonders if it's too early for him to put in his two week notice. He's only been at the magazine company for a month, but he isn't sure he can stomach seeing Minghao again so soon. When he wanders into the breakroom there's only Wonwoo and Mingyu, but a tense silence falls over the room nonetheless. Jun isn't stupid enough to not notice they were obviously talking about him. He shouldn't be surprised, Wonwoo and Mingyu are nearly inseparable these days, even more so after they started dating, and something as big as Junhui crying probably warrants a serious discussion.

"Hey hyung," Mingyu says. Jun just grunts in response as he fills and starts up the electric kettle. He brought his very own infuser along with a small bag of loose leaf tea for the first time in a long time. The office’s green tea, while good, just isn’t going to cut it today.

“How are you?” Wonwoo asks, and even though the tone is light it feels like an interrogation.

“I’m great,” Jun says dryly and Wonwoo doesn’t say anything else. The kettle dings to signal that it’s ready and Jun leaves the breakroom after he’s poured a generous amount of hot water over his tea infuser. He can hear the two of them start up a rapid conversation as soon as he’s gone.

\----

Jun had always thought he was lucky that he and Minghao had found work at the same company after they graduated from university. The magazine is prestigious and well written, and it even pays well. Jun could probably even afford to live on his own if he wasn’t so attached to his college roommates. But now, seeing Minghao in the cubicle across from him clicking away furiously at his computer screen, Jun can’t help but feel like he’s cursed. He considers trying to go home early and feign sickness, but then he remembers he has a deadline to finish a piece on horoscopes and figures he’s probably strong enough to get through the end of the day.

\---

About 10 minutes later and Jun has decided that his former claim was complete bullshit. He’s a weak piece of garbage and he knows it. For the horoscope piece, he’s supposed to write up sample horoscopes, fake ones that are common and are applicable to lots of situations, but as he's looking over the ones he’d typed up he can’t help but think maybe he needs some new scenery. They all seems dismal and having to do with romantic failure and as he rereads the words “heartbreak” and “perpetually alone” he figures that it’s probably time for him to take a break.

\----

The breakroom this time is occupied by a sole Jihoon who’s munching on a whole carrot and looking at his phone determinedly. In front of him is an empty lunch container which Jun can only assume originally contained some sort of real meal.

“Hey Jihoon-ah,” Jun says upon entering. Jihoon looks up from his phone and puts down his mostly eaten carrot.

“Doesn’t this carrot remind you of Hoshi’s hair?” he asks. In a normal circumstance Jun would find this funny, but now all he can manage is a singular “ha.” Jihoon’s eyes narrow at that as Jun takes a seat across from him.

“What’s wrong. What happened. Why aren’t you laughing at my jokes." They're questions for sure, but they feel more like a harsh cross-examination.

“Me and Minghao broke up,” Jun replies and Jihoon is huffing angrily when Jun finishes his sentence.

“Why?”

Jun shrugs.

“Dunno.”

Silence passes.

“Well that’s fucked up,” Jihoon says, and shoves the carrot back in his mouth.

“Yeah.”

“You ever want to talk…”

“Yeah. Thanks, Jihoon.”

“Sure hyung.”

And Jihoon gets up and offers him an awkward side hug as he throws away the gross end bit of the carrot and packs up his empty lunch bag. Jun is left alone in the break room and groans belatedly as he realizes he has no lunch.

\----

Jun thinks he’s saved when he hears footsteps behind him. Maybe it’s somebody who can go out to lunch with him. When he hearts the sharp intake of breath and feels a chill rush through the room he knows that of course he wouldn’t be that lucky.

“…hey Jun-hyung.”

“Hi Minghao.”

“I uh, can eat in my cubicle if you want.”  
“No, no, it’s, uh…it’s fine.”

“…okay.”

Jun avoids eye contact as Minghao sits across from him and tries to ignore the fact that he’s using the lunchbox Jun bought for him for his birthday. Jun tries not to cry like a little baby.

“I…I’m sorry hyung,” Minghao says. Jun can feel his eyes start to water and that seems to shut Minghao up. The clock on the wall ticks as Minghao eats his cold noodles and Jun stares at the table.

“I…do you want me to tell you why?”

Jun is almost afraid to hear it, but his desperate curiosity overshadows his fear.

“Yeah.”

Minghao puts down his chopsticks and takes a deep breath.

“I just…I didn’t think that we were suited to each other anymore. We seem like we’re going different directions in life hyung, and I just, I don’t know. I don’t feel like we were…connecting anymore.”

“What does that…I...I just…I don’t”

Jun pauses and Minghao shoves a piece of broccoli into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

“Ok,” Jun finally says. “I…I still love you. Sorry.”

Minghao’s eyebrows furrow and he looks so regretful.

“It’s okay hyung. I’m the one who should be sorry. And I am. Really. I…I know you’re not ready yet, but, I want to be friends still at some point.”

“I’ll try,” Jun says. “But no promises.” Minghao figures that’s the best he’ll get.

The clock continues to tick as Minghao continues to consume his lunch, this time crunching on a piece of cucumber. It seems luck is on his side this time because Jeonghan and Joshua come in only two minutes later and ask them both if they’re interested in joining them for lunch. Minghao gestures towards his noodles, but Jun stands up and agrees quickly.

“Sorry again hyung,” Minghao murmurs and Jun shrugs.

“I’ll get over it Minghao,” Jun says, and then he’s following Jeonghan and Joshua out the door.

\----

The end up at the burger place around the corner and are debating whether or not to get their food for here or to go.

“Let’s just eat here,” Jeonghan decides and the other two agree because he’s the oldest. When all three have gotten their food and sat down at a booth, Jun can practically feel the motherly instincts coming off of Jeonghan in waves.

“So, do you want to talk about the rumors buzzing around the office?” Jeonghan asks. It’s not his friend’s fault for talking about his breakdown, in fact, it’s probably his for deciding to work at the same place where his roommates are employed.

“Sure Jeonghan-hyung. What do you want to know?”

“…is it true? Did you and Hao really break up?” Jeonghan looks worried and truly motherly. Joshua is quietly eating his fries and Jun is valiantly trying to drown his in a mountain of salt.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

Junhui eats a salt saturated fry and doesn't even blink. Everything tastes like ash in his mouth.

“He said that we’re not compatible anymore. That we’re going different places in life or something. I don’t know.”  
Jeonghan nods understandingly and Joshua remains oddly silent, continuing to take large bites of his burger.

“It’ll be okay Jun, don’t worry,” Jeonghan says, reaching over to rub Jun’s head.

“Thanks hyung.”

Both of them turn to their food and begin eating in silence. Joshua is the first to polish off his meal and he wipes his hands before he moves to place his hands on Jun’s shoulders and look him directly in the eye. Jun is in the middle of swallowing a large bite of burger but makes eye contact with Joshua nonetheless.  
“It will all be fine Junhui. You and Minghao will both be fine, okay? Don’t worry. We’re here for you. We love you and will always support you,” Joshua says, eyes steely and serious. A singular salty tear escapes Jun’s left eye and travels down his cheek.

“Thanks Joshua-hyung,” he sniffs, blinking his eyes furiously.

“You have lots going for you anyways,” Jeonghan says. “You’re smart and kind and funny and you even cry like a supermodel. You’ll be on your feet in no time.”

Jun pointedly does not tell him about how he wailed hideously last night and the three move on to more lighthearted topics as Jun and Jeonghan finish up their own lunch.

\----

Jun still has about 3 hours left before his deadline for the horoscope piece is up, and he gets right back to business, avoiding Minghao’s gaze as best he can. He erases his past work, deleting any mention of romance in the horoscopes altogether and choosing instead to write vague fake horoscopes surrounding wealth. When he finishes with an hour to spare he almost pats himself on the back literally and then submits it in an email to Seungcheol. He decides now is as good a time as any to start checking emails and finds a companywide reminder that their quarterly company retreat is the next weekend. The email itself is colorful and contains one too many clipart photos, so Jun deduces that it was probably Seokmin who’s sent it out. Underneath the bright blue invitation containing photos of campfires and s’mores are formal instructions that were likely written by Seungcheol, including a packing list and information on when and where to meet up to take vans to their campsite. Jun can practically feel his heart drop as he sees the room assignments below.

 

_“Cabin 11_

_Hoshi_

_Dino_

_Junhui_

_Minghao”_

 

From the faint groan across the way, Junhui can only assume Minghao has also seen it. Jun wonders if he can convince Seungcheol to move him into another room.

\----  
Tuesday is a boring day for Jun. Seungcheol sent back the horoscope piece with several edits, but he had finished those early on in the day and was left with almost nothing to do. There’s a knock on the side of his cubicle wall and Jun looks up from his computer to see Joshua standing there with an unfamiliar man standing next to him.

“Hey Jun, this is our new graphics designer. Can you show him around please? His name is Hansol and he’s very nice.”

“But I’m so busy,” Jun says, gesturing to his beach desktop background. “Look at all of this, this fake beach won’t admire itself.”

“Junhui,” Joshua says warningly, and Jun knows that it’s Joshua’s own way of showing he cares.  
“Fine,” Jun says and he stands up to shake Hansol’s hand. Joshua sends him a tight smile and leaves him with the designer.

“Hello, my name is Hansol,” new guy says and when he smiles his eyes are cute half-crescents.

“Hi, I’m Jun,” he replies, and he doesn’t mean to sound so cold but he can’t help that he is. Hansol doesn’t seem fazed however, and continues to smile obliviously. Jun starts leading him around the office, introducing him to coworkers he runs into. Minghao wasn’t at his desk, but they run into him as he’s on his way back from the printer, carrying a stack of what seem to be flyers for a dance showcase.

“This is Minghao. He’s a photographer and you’ll probably be working with him a lot,” Jun says and Minghao shoots Hansol a smile.

“Hello,” Hansol says. “Please take care of me.”

Jun concludes Hansol must clearly be oblivious because the tension between him and Minghao is so thick it could probably be cut with a knife.  
“I’ll see you around Hansol,” Minghao says, giving a tiny bow and making his way towards his cubicle. Hansol doesn’t question the awkward eye interaction between Jun and Minghao, and Jun can do nothing but be thankful.

Jun continues his tour of the office, pointing out the printer and copier along with their rarely used fax machine. They continue to meet staff along the way, and already Jun can tell that Hansol and Chan are going to be a pair of troublemakers with their innocent faces and their cute grins. Chan may get away pretending to be an innocent maknae with others, but Jun would never fall for it. He had already done that in university when he got conned out of far too much won buying Chan meals. Only he and his roommates know the devil maknae Chan truly is, and Jun can only hope that he doesn’t corrupt Hansol too much. He can barely deal with Chan, there’s no way he can handle the two of them together.

\----  
They’re almost at the end of the tour when they run into Seungkwan. Jun doesn’t expect anything really, just another normal introduction. He isn’t even paying attention when the two of them make eye contact, preoccupied with thinking about what kind of tea to make that night. He doesn’t even focus until he hears Seungkwan mutter “You fucking bastard.”

And that’s when Jun’s eyes widen and he grabs onto Seungkwan’s wrist.

“Seungkwan!” he says sternly, dragging Seungkwan to a corner and leaving Hansol looking dejected and stressed. “What is _wrong_ with you? Do you know Hansol?”  
“He’s my ex,” Seungkwan says, like that explains everything. When Jun’s eyes show no recognition Seungkwan decides to elaborate. “From college.”

Ah. That one. Jun nods as he recalls Seungkwan drunkenly relaying his traumatic break-up with the “love of his life.” Jun struggles to remember the reason they broke up, but decides he probably has too many ex-boyfriend problems of his own to try to deal with Seungkwan’s.

“Just…try to keep it civil at work,” Jun says, even though he can totally relate to the burning anger of a break up.

“I’ll do my best Jun-hyung,” Seungkwan says, but Jun won’t hold his breath. When the duo walk back over to Hansol, he’s staring at his feet and shuffling awkwardly. It’s likely he heard them.

“Don’t talk to me you motherfucker,” Seungkwan says and storms off angrily. Jun signs. So much for civility.

“Seungkwan! Boo! Wait! I-,” Hansol cuts himself off and lets out a deep breath. “Sorry Jun-hyung. This probably wasn’t what you were expecting giving me a tour. I didn’t know he worked here…”

“It’s okay,” Jun says, and he gets right back on track, telling a slightly less excited Hansol about the details of their absurdly nice coffee maker. It had been an office gift Jihoon to all his coworkers as motivation to work harder, but was probably just an excuse for Jihoon to drink more coffee. The tour ends with Jun showing Hansol his very own cubicle and desk, located in the corner next to Mingyu’s and Hansol bows.

“Thanks for showing me around hyung. And sorry you had to see that stuff with Seungkwan. I’ll talk to him,” Hansol apologizes and Jun shrugs.

“No big deal. Break ups are hard,” he says in return. Because fuck, it’s true, break ups are hard.

“Also, don’t forget. We have our company retreat this weekend.”  
“Oh yeah. I almost forgot. Thanks hyung,” Hansol says with a smile. Jun waves to go back to his own cubicle and contemplates what to work on next before he realizes that his work day is over and he can go home. A rush of relief passes through him as he packs up and looks for Wonwoo, his ever-faithful ride home. He finds him waiting near the front doors with Soonyoung and Chan, already prepared to go.

“Finally,” Chan says. “Let’s go home guys.”

The four head to the lobby where they find Minghao already waiting for an elevator. The five pile in and Jun works hard to avoid making awkward eye contact while Chan and Soonyoung chatter about work to try and diffuse the tension. As they all arrive at the garage Minghao waves.  
“Bye everybody, see you tomorrow,” he says. Jun sends him a tight-lipped smile and all four wave back. As they get into Wonwoo’s sleek black car, Jun tries to comfort himself just a little. It’s only been two days. It shouldn’t be expected that he’s completely fine yet. It’s okay that he’s not. As they roll out of the garage into 5 o’clock rush hour, Jun studies the darkening Seoul sky as Chan and Soonyoung talk about a dance competition and Wonwoo curses under his breath about the traffic. Yeah, he thinks to himself. It’s okay. He doesn't have to be fine just yet.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jun makes a decision. It's not a very good one, but Jun has never been the sharpest tool in the shed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long ha. It's also very rambly, so sorry for that too.

On Tuesday night, Jun dreams of his and Minghao’s first date. It was an awkward affair at a local café claiming to have the “best cappuccino in all of South Korea.” It was slightly overpriced, and Jun remembers shelling out just a bit too much won for two mugs of hot tea and a crumbly pastry. Jun also remembers the feeling of giddiness that overwhelmed everything else that Minghao had finally agreed to a date. It had only taken several years of them being friends and then a solid year of Jun’s annoying skin ship and pestering. Jun has attempted to forget that their first date was one of pity, but his traitorous mind won’t let him.

“Here you go Minghao,” dream Jun says, handing him the pastry. Minghao has a cute smile on his face and he takes a bite with a pleased hum. Jun laughs when crumbs are left on the corner of his mouth but stops as Minghao’s tongue darts out to lick at them. Suddenly Jun’s mouth is very dry and he takes a hasty gulp of tea. He doesn’t feel the burn, still too distracted while Minghao seems to endlessly chase the final crumbs. Eventually Jun takes pity on him and grabs a napkin to wipe the bits of pastry off Minghao’s face. The smile that Minghao shoots him is nearly heart stopping.

“Thanks hyung,” dream Minghao says, and Jun is left with a blinding smile on his face and a warm feeling deep in his gut.

When Junhui wakes up the next morning in a cold, empty bed he wraps his whole body around his extra pillow like he’s a squid and attempts to not feel pathetic.

\----

The plan doesn’t quite go to plan because Wonwoo walks into his room five minutes later and demands he get up for work.

“What are you doing,” Wonwoo asks dryly as Jun’s legs curl tighter around the white pillow.

“Nothing. Thish is ‘ow I sleep,” Jun says, reply muffled by the way his face is stuffed into the pillow.

“Stop being ridiculous Jun,” Wonwoo says and he almost sounds irritated. He’s pulling out his phone now and sending an aggressive text message to who Jun can only assume is Mingyu. A happy couple. Fucking disgusting. Jun can almost feel bile rising up his throat in pure revulsion. When Wonwoo’s vaguely annoyed look is replaced with a dopey smile Jun’s suspicions are confirmed.

“Hey,” he says. “If you want to text your boyfriend go do it in your own room.”

“Pfft. Fine. But get up. I’m serious. We have to go to work and I’m leaving in 20 minutes.”  
That’s barely enough time for Jun to shower, but he’ll make do. He’s out in record time, but his damp hair is cold and unpleasant on the back of his neck, stray water droplets dripping down his back in cold rivulets. Jun pulls outs his trusty hairdryer to finish the towel’s job and with one hand grasps the blowing dryer while the other scrubs at his teeth vigorously. Multi-tasking is a true talent he concludes. Who needed to be able to rap well (like Wonwoo), or sing like a god (like Seungkwan), or produce music in his spare time (like Jihoon). Jun is talented too. He’ll prove it. He may surround himself with attractive, successful, talented men, but he was one too. He’s good at Wushu and being handsome and an unsuccessful person wouldn’t be able to speak 3 languages, right? And that was when Jun decided that he would make Minghao regret dumping him. He’ll become the most amazing man on the face of planet, so great that Minghao won’t even be able to comprehend what “incompatible” means. He’s going to make Minghao eat his words. Chan gives him a strange look when he wanders out of his room full of swagger, and his concern only grows when Jun chuckles to himself as he takes an aggressive bite out of buttery toast.

“Hyung, you’re scaring me.”

Jun doesn’t respond and instead mutters under his breath something that sounds like “I’ll show him” and “Eat shit Hao.” Chan resolutely puts in earbuds and looks away.

\----

They’re all in the car when Jun starts planning his Minghao jealousy plan again. He starts to realize it’s unrealistic when every time he thinks of Minghao his heart does some weird thing between speeding up out of joy and altogether stopping out of heartbreak. This is when he figures out that maybe it’s a little too early for Jun to really be plotting a revenge plan. Especially because whenever he thinks about his break up he gets misty eyed. The underlying anger he feels beneath the heartbreak just isn’t heated enough yet, the sadness still outweighs the fury. He lets out a pathetic little sob in the car, imagining Minghao’s cute smile and scolds himself because he really has to stop crying in public. His roommates are polite enough to not say anything, and Soonyoung turns up the radio a little louder. Jun hums to himself.

“Cheer up baby…”

If only.

\----

Work is dull on Wednesday even though Junhui has a brand new piece on music therapy he’s supposed to be writing. He putzes around for an hour and tries to ignore the ache of sadness whenever he sees Minghao out of the corner of his eye. When it finally hits 11 AM Jun figures he should probably start up the piece before Seungcheol starts breathing down his neck.

He works for a few hours before his stomach rumbles unhappily and he figures it’s time to go eat his sad lunch (a cup of instant ramen and a container filled with rice and a single, sliced up, hardboiled egg). Jun promises himself that he’ll go grocery shopping over the weekend.

Nobody is in the breakroom when he enters, but his peace doesn’t last long when Hansol and Chan burst in laughing. Jun knew it. Thick as thieves already, probably planning to scam everybody out of their hard-earned money by guilt tripping them into buying food for the “precious maknaes.” Chan is saying something about how scarring it is to walk in on coworkers making out, and Hansol is nodding along animatedly, laughing when Chan begins to rant at how the times he’s walked in on Mingyu and Wonwoo is approaching double digits.

“It’s not funny Hansol,” Chan whines.

“Nah dude, it’s pretty funny.”

Hansol’s cheeks are rosy pink from laughter and Jun wonders for a second if he was ever that pure looking. It seems Chan has finally decided to take in his surroundings and spot him and Jun gives him a little half smile.

“Hi Jun-hyung!” Chan says, grabbing a paper bag from the refrigerator and plopping down across from Jun. Hansol retrieves what looks to be a beaten-up Hello Kitty tin lunchbox and takes a seat next to Chan. Jun raises an eyebrow.

“It’s uh, it’s from high school. My little sister liked the Batman one that I got more.”

Hansol’s ears are a bright cherry red and Jun decides not to mention that Hansol has been out of high school for at least 4 years. Chan doesn’t seem to care, but he’s also zoned out, staring blankly at the entrance to the breakroom. Out of curiosity, Jun looks. Ah. Seungkwan. Hansol stiffens as Seungkwan walks straight past them and gets his own lunch from the fridge. Hansol is left still shaking as Seungkwan leaves and when he’s completely out of the room he’s left feeling confused.

“Well…” Chan starts. “At least he didn’t hit you.”

“…wow. What inspiring words of confidence Chan,” Hansol says, face deadpan.

“Hey, I’m trying here!”

Jun eats a piece of egg and pulls out his phone, tuning the bickering out. It doesn’t take particularly long to eat his meager lunch, and he leaves for his desk just as a frazzled Jihoon walks in. He blocks the doorway, and Jun is attempting to slip out the door when Jihoon grabs him, grip vice-like and painful.

“Jun-hyung.”

Jun sighs.

“I need help.”

“…Okay. He’s dragged back to the lunch table.

“Stay,” Jihoon commands, retrieving his lunch from the fridge. He pulls out a protein bar and a bag of grapes. It seems Hansol and Chan are finishing because they pack up quick and exit even quicker.

“…so what’s up Jihoon.”

“…this can’t leave the room, okay?”

Jun is nervous now.

“Er, uh, yeah, sure.”

“You promise me. You fucking promise me Wen Junhui.”

And oh wow, he just used his full name so it must be important. Jun leans forward.

“I promise.”

This seems to calm Jihoon down because he sits back in his chair and nods sharply.

“Good.”

Inhale.

“Soonyoung confessed to me.”  
Jun is tempted to laugh but holds back in fear for his safety.

“…you…um…uh…what.”  
“Soonyoung. Kwon Soonyoung. Your roommate. He told me he’s liked me for 2 years and then he asked me on a date.”  
Jun blinks owlishly.  
“You’re shitting me, right dude? Hidden camera prank?”  
“I wish. I fuckin’ wish I was.”  
More blinks.

“So. What did you say?”  
“What the fuck did you think I said?” Jihoon gives him an incredulous look. “I rejected him of course.”  
“What? But, _why?”_

“Office fraternization is prohibited.”  
“Oh that’s bullshit and you know it. Wonwoo and Mingyu have basically claimed the storage closet as their designated place to suck face. Even Seungcheol avoids it and he’s our boss.”  
“Okay, yeah, it’s bullshit but…but I can’t date Soonyoung. I’ve never dated anybody Jun. I don’t even know if I’m _interested_ in guys.”  
“So you rejected him because you’re confused.”

“Well…yeah. What else was I supposed to do? I can’t make him my…pet project or whatever. That’s a dick move and we both know it.”  
“…he’s gonna be crushed. Tonight is gonna be real rough.”  
“Yeah. Uh, sorry.”  
“So…you said you needed help. Did you just need to, like, vent or something?”  
“Uh, no. I want to be friends with Soonyoung. But, uh, now that I’ve rejected him…I dunno if it’s a great idea.”  
“Give him some time to cool off Jihoon. He’s not one to hold grudges. Just…give him a breather. Rejection is hard.”

Jihoon frowns.

“Yeah. Okay."

He unwraps his protein bar and takes an aggressive bite.

“Thanks.”

Jun smiles encouragingly.

“I’m going back to work.”

Jihoon waves. Upon leaving, Jun is almost immediately confronted with a blotchy faced Soonyoung and a serious Wonwoo.

“I’m taking Soonyoung home. You’ll need to find another ride,” Wonwoo says. Jun nods and then moves to give Soonyoung a tight hug.

“I’m here for you,” he whispers. Soonyoung sniffles.

“Thanks hyung.”

The two leave for the garage and Jun manages to make it back to his desk without any more confrontations. He considers carefully who could give him a ride. Seungcheol is out, he lives on the other side of the city. Jihoon takes public transport so not him either. Mingyu’s car is a serious safety hazard, basically an accident waiting to happen. Jun sighs. He knows who’s left.

He spots Hansol at the printer, angrily tapping his foot.

“Hey Hansol,” he starts. Hansol looks up.

“I hate printers.”

“Mm, yeah, that’s great. Can you give me and Chan a ride home today?”

He doesn’t want to deal with the obnoxious chatter of the young maknaes, but it’s not like he has much of a choice.

“Sure,” Hansol says. He doesn’t look up from glaring at the printer. Jun shrugs and leaves to finish his piece. His stomach growls and he curses the fact that he has no food.

\----

Several hours pass before Hansol approaches him.

“I’m leaving. Let’s go.”

Jun nods and starts powering down his computer. He’s nearly done with the piece and prepares to send it in for edits tomorrow. He and Hansol head over to Chan’s desk next. Chan is already prepared, backpack slung over his shoulder.

“Let’s rumble,” he says.

Hansol’s car is larger than expected and a surprisingly garish shade of blue. Once in, the rambling conversations of maknaes starts almost immediately, then transitions to a loud karaoke session of old Super Junior songs.

“SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY,” they chorus.

Jun wonders if it’s too late for him to jump out the window.

“LET’S DANCE.”

The window is too small anyways.

“SHAWTY~”

Home has never seemed so far away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try to finish the next chapter soon! Classes and work are very tiring. Everybody make sure to hydrate in the next few months


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jun's not the only one who's gotten dumped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long. I've been preoccupied with other fics, I apologize!

Jun is just a bit nervous when Hansol drops them off. Chan is cheery still, hanging out with Hansol always made him a bit more energetic than usual. But all that cheeriness disappears when they enter their home. Soonyoung is on their couch, wrapped in several fuzzy blankets, Wonwoo to his left. The television is playing some crappy drama and there are several empty bottles of beer on the floor. A half-eaten box of chocolates sits on Wonwoo’s lap and Jun notices that there are several pieces of chocolate on the floor in front of the TV. Soonyoung and Wonwoo don’t seem to have noticed their entrance.

“…we’re home,” Chan says. Wonwoo turns. Soonyoung does not.

“Welcome back,” Wonwoo replies.

“…thanks.”  
Jun and Chan toe off their shoes and drop their bags by the front door before joining Wonwoo and Soonyoung on the couch. Several minutes pass, the drama still playing.

“I love you,” the girl on the TV says.

“Lies! Love isn’t real!” Soonyoung cries, taking a bite out of a chocolate before throwing it at the screen. It lands with an inaudible thump in front of the television.

_Ah. So that’s why there are chocolates…_

“I’m going to go get more drinks Soonyoung,” Wonwoo says gently. He carefully places the chocolates on the coffee table. Soonyoung doesn’t respond.

“I’m, uh, I’m gonna go help,” Jun mutters. He follows Wonwoo to the kitchen and lowers his voice.

“…so how’s he doing?”  
Wonwoo sighs.

“He’s been like this for hours,” Wonwoo whispers. Jun frowns. “When we first got home, he cried for an hour straight.”

“Jeez, poor Soonyoung.”

Wonwoo nods.

“Yeah…I just…I don’t know how to make him feel better.”  
“Let’s just give it some time.”

“Yeah…not much else we can do.”  
The two come back out with two cases of beer and a stack of delivery menus.

“Your choice tonight Soonyoung. We can order from anywhere.”

“…I’m not really hungry hyung.”

“You have to eat Soonyoung.”  
“…let’s just order pizza then.”

During dinner, Soonyoung remains quiet. Jun and Wonwoo and Chan work extra hard to fill the spaces where Soonyoung would normally talk. When they finish the pizza, Jun escorts Soonyoung to his room as Chan and Wonwoo clean up.

“It’ll be better in the morning Soonyoung-ah.”  
Soonyoung sniffles and wipes at his eyes.

“…you’re so kind hyung. Taking care of me when I know you’re still in pain.”

Jun smiles a sad sort of smile.

“Of course Soonyoung. I’ll always be here for you, okay?”

Soonyoung is the one smiling now but it’s only a little less sad.

“Goodnight hyung.”

“Goodnight Soonyoung.”

\----  
Thursday morning is hard. The car ride is unusually silent, devoid of any conversation. Wonwoo eventually turns on the radio to cut through the awkwardness. They continue their drive to work without talking as the radio blares on.

It seems a switch has been flipped when they all take their firsts steps into the office. Soonyoung is suddenly all smiles, chattering away happily to a confused Chan. They make their way to the conference room for their weekly meeting and Jun’s jaw almost hits the floor when Soonyoung offers up a sunny greeting to Jihoon. It looks like Jihoon is just as surprised as Jun and he awkwardly returns Soonyoung’s greeting.

The room fills quickly with Seungcheol being the last to enter. He heads up to the front, papers in hand.

“Goooood MORNING everybody!”

Jun groans. Seungcheol is disgustingly enthusiastic about their weekly meetings.

“Today on the agenda,” Seungcheol starts. He rustles through his papers. “We will be discussing the overnight retreat!”

_Ah, fuck._

Jun had completely forgotten. From the looks on everybody else’s faces, they had too.

“I already sent out the cabin listings! Please prepare for some super fun team building exercises!”

“Team building exercises are never fun,” Jihoon groans.

“Wrong! They are absolutely the most fun! And we’ll all have a _great_ time.”

Seungcheol’s grin is almost threatening. Jihoon rolls his eyes.

“Feh, sure, whatever.”  
Jun tunes out Seungcheol has he continues to ramble on about the retreat and instead decides to focus on Minghao’s face. It’s cute as usual, but there are some uncommonly dark circles around his eyes.

_Is he sleeping enough?_

The worry that bubbles up in Jun is almost second nature. He cranes his neck forward and squints his eyes, trying to discern any other anomalies. Minghao catches his gaze.

“What are you looking at?” Minghao mouths to him.

“-nd on Sunday we’ll all be kayaking down-” Seungcheol drones.

“You look tired,” Jun mouths back.

“-pect you bright and early on Monday for work again,” Seungcheol finishes. Minghao doesn’t have time to reply. Against his better judgement, Jun approaches him at the end of the meeting.

“You look like you haven’t been sleeping much,” Jun starts.

“I’ve been sleeping fine.”  
“You have huge bags under your eyes.”

“I said I’ve been fine.”

“Minghao, you really have to take better care of yourself.”  
“ _Junhui_ , back off. I said I’m okay.”

Junhui flinches. That stings.

“…just because we broke up doesn’t mean I’ll stop worrying about you, you know.”

“…yeah, I know Jun. But it’s okay. Really. I’m fine.”  
“…I…I still…”

“Don’t say it Jun. Please. It’ll just make it harder for both of us.”

“…yeah. Sorry.”

“Let’s just…go back to work, yeah?”  
“Yeah.”

\----  
Jun finishes his piece far before schedule and figures he’ll reward himself with an early lunch. He wanders to other cubicles, seeking a lunch partner. Everybody seems to be working except. Except…Jun sighs.

“Hey Hansol, wanna grab lunch?”

The smile Hansol gives him is almost blinding it’s so bright.

“Sure hyung! Let’s go!”

Jun wonders if he was this happy when he was Hansol’s age. He probably wasn’t.

“So, where are we going hyung?”  
“Hm, how about the burger place around the corner?”  
“Sure!”

The walk to the restaurant is filled with Hansol’s fast paced chatter. Jun is barely able to get a word in at all. Jun is a simple man, and he orders a simple burger with fries. Hansol on the other hand seems to be attempting to enter a second growth spurt with the amount of food he orders.

“Will you be able to finish all of that?” Jun asks as they make their way to a table.

“Of course!” Hansol replies. He looks almost offended Jun would even ask a question like that. “I’m a growing boy after all!”

“Hansol, you’re twenty-two. You’re hardly growing at this point.”  
“Hey, doesn’t mean I can’t keep trying!”

“Uh, sure, but…you should know that, uh, growth doesn’t really work like that.”  
“Psh, lies. Of course it does.”

Jun purses his lips.

“Mmhmm.”

He’s halfway through his burger when he catches Hansol’s bizarrely somber expression.

“What’s up?” he questions.

“I’m just thinking about this burger place that me and Seungkwan used to go to.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah.”

An awkward silence settles over the table. Neither of them move to continue eating either.

“…you’re probably wondering why Seungkwan hates me so much.”

“You don’t have to share if you don’t want to.”  
“No, it’s fine.” Hansol inhales deeply, steeling himself. “It was, uh, it was when we graduated. High school. I…I told him we’d have to end it. Because we were going to different universities.”

“I see…but…uh, he seems…he seems a little too angry for, uh, for that reason.”  
“Well…we argued. He wanted to try, um, the long-distance thing. I said no. He got mad and I, uh, I told him I, er, hated him?”

Jun sucks a breath in through his teeth.

“Well…that’s pretty shitty.”

“Yup.”  
“You didn’t _actually_ hate him, right?”  
“Nope.”  
“…kids these days…”

“Hey, I was only eighteen, what was I supposed to do? I figured that maybe, if he hated me, it’d suck less for him.”  
Jun rolls his eyes and lets out another sharp breath.

“You are so dumb Hansol. So. Fucking. Stupid.”

“Yeah…I uh, I kinda figured that out later.”  
“You deserve to be hated you idiot.”  
“Yeah. I know.”  
“…but I’ll do my best to help you, okay?”

Hansol’s smile is small but hopeful.

“…thanks hyung.”

Jun laughs, short but genuine.

“Now finish up your _three_ burgers so we can go back to work.”  
Hansol smiles, equally genuine, and does just that. Jun would be impressed if he wasn’t so horrified.

\----  
When they arrive back at work, he’s almost immediately summoned to Seungcheol’s office.

“Uh, hey Seungcheol-hyung, what’s up?” he asks as he sits down.

“…listen…”

_Did I…fuck up?_

Jun bites his lip.

“I need advice.”

_What._

“Uh…excuse me?”  
“Advice, you know, the stuff you give to friends.”  
“Um, okay?”  
“So…I’d like to ask out Jeonghan. Where do you think we should go for our first date?”  
“…uh, hyung, like, I love the fact that you trust me and stuff, but, uh, I mean…”  
Seungcheol cocks his head left and blinks with wide, innocent eyes.

_He really doesn’t know…how weird this is._

“…okay. Uh. Okay. My advice is to take Jeonghan to a nice, romantic restaurant and eat a fancy dinner. Because Jeonghan-hyung seems like the type who would like that.”  
Seungcheol’s smile is gummy and pleased.  
“Great! Thanks! Awesome advice! Also, the piece you submitted has grammatical errors. I’d suggest looking at it again.”  
“…yeah okay. Thanks, hyung. I’m going to go back to work now.”  
Seungcheol is already tapping away at his computer.

“…cool, okay, yep. Great talk, awesome, bye.”  
Jun rubs at his arms and suppresses a shiver as he leaves the office. Bosses asking for advice is an unfamiliar territory he wasn’t prepared for. He pulls out his phone and nearly runs headfirst into Minghao on the walk back to his desk.  
“Aish, sorry,” he says. He isn’t looking up. He doesn’t see that it’s Minghao.

“…it’s okay.”

Jun’s head flies up.

“…ah.”

“…so, uh, how are you Jun?”  
“Great.”  
“That’s…that’s good.”

“Yeah.”  
“Uh, I’m glad you’re doing well.”

“Mmhmm.”

Minghao purses his lips.

“...okay. Bye Jun.”

Jun doesn’t respond. Minghao sighs like he’s disappointed and walks away. Jun scoffs.

_What does Minghao have to be disappointed about, eh? I was the one who was dumped._

He goes back to his cubicle in a sour mood and angrily begins editing his piece. His mood remains bitter hours later and only begins to lessen when he sees how tired Soonyoung looks. Jun sighs and decides that he should try to cheer up for his roommate’s sake. Today was probably hard for him too. He packs up his bag and meets his roommates at the elevators.

“How are you?” he asks Soonyoung. Soonyoung gives him a weary smile.

“I’m okay. Thanks Jun-hyung.”  
Chan gives Soonyoung a firm pat on the back and slings his arm over his shoulder.

“We’re here for you,” he says. Soonyoung laughs a bit and wipes at his teary eyes.

“Thanks guys.”  
“Don’t forget, we have to pack when we get home too,” Wonwoo says and oh shit, Jun had forgotten again. They enter the elevator and Jun’s mood falls as the elevator goes down floors. He isn’t prepared to deal with rooming with Minghao. But it seems he doesn’t have a choice.

The four enter Wonwoo’s car, and Chan begins to tell a rousing story of his and Hansol’s exploits. It seems after lunch with Jun, Hansol had another exciting fight with their janky printer. Chan is telling the story so enthusiastically that even Soonyoung is laughing. The radio plays on softly in the background.

“Ah! Is tha SHINee that I hear? Turn it up!” Soonyoung cries. Wonwoo rolls his eyes but obeys the command. Soonyoung rolls down his window and sticks his head out. He whoops and hollers and belts _Lucifer_ as loud as he can. Jun and Chan laugh, rolling down their windows too. Wonwoo is the last to follow, but soon they’re all singing the chorus and laughing hard. The wind is cold on Jun’s face but he smiles anyways. He takes a huge breath and screams. A car behind them honks loudly.

“SHUT _UP!_ ”

Jun laughs and hollers louder.

_Is this what it’s like to be free?_

Jun figures it’s probably close enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol idk where i'm going with this. somebody help me.

**Author's Note:**

> If anybody is wondering why Hansol didn't go home at the same time as Jun it's because he goes home at 6 PM. Nobody was wondering probably. Pce out and I'll try to update soon.


End file.
